Brooklyn Winery Opens New Wine-Centric Restaurant

The team behind the beloved Brooklyn Winery recently launched their first wine-centric restaurant in Crown Heights, entitled BKW.

Founders Brian Leventhal and John Stires have teamed up with executive chef Michael Gordon (previously of Bouley, New York’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel’s Asiate and Savory), to follow the success of their iconic urban winery with this full service restaurant.

Chef Gordon has created a menu that is includes both small and large plates featuring Pan Roasted Skate with Roasted Squash Agrodolce, Coconut Mushroom Mint Soup and Pickled Beets with Roasted Fennel and Smoky Ricotta. The menu, meant to complement Brooklyn Winery’s unique portfolio of Brooklyn-made wines, also features an eclectic sampling of desserts.

Just in time for summer, BKW is serving up the Kalimotxo Float – essentially a wine float (tweak on the Spanish wine & Coke drink/an upscale take on a root beer float).

The float is made from mascarpone gelato sourced from Il Laboratoria del Gelato on the Lower East Side, where the gelato is handmade. It is served in a clear glass, next to which sits a small pitcher of Brooklyn Winery-made Old Vine Zinfandel, which was created in the urban winery based in Williamsburg from grapes harvested in Lodi, CA, and then mixed at a 50/50 ratio with Boylan’s cola.

Guests are invited to merge the two on their own to ensure the gelato does not melt before it is served – it’s also quite fun!

In order to continue making innovative strides in the wine industry, a fully functioning micro-winery also exists on-site at BKW, designed for the wine making team to try experimental techniques that will make their way to be served exclusively at the bar alongside rare vintages of wines pulled from the vault, dating back to the winery’s very first harvest.